Best-Selling Books: The Battle of the Bosses

Stop! Let’s stop for two seconds to observe the winners of this week’s fiction. It is the perfect photograph of the major trends that have been emerging for a good handful of years: spring successes shared between detective novels, on the one hand, and romances or books feel good, on the other hand. With the exception of a few survivors of more “traditional” literature (Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Frédéric Beigbeder), our Top 20 is indeed “invaded” by a battalion of whodunnits and similar, signed Fred Vargas, Franck Thilliez, Marc Dugain , Jean-Christophe Grangé, Camilla Läckberg, Dennis Lehane, Bernard Minier, Stephen King; and by as many novelists adept at romance in the (very broad) sense, Lucinda Riley, Virginie Grimaldi, Katherine Pancol, Julia Quinn, Sarah Rivens, Colleen Hoover, Mélissa Da Costa, Nine Gorman and Marie Alhinho… Not sure that summer to come changes the game.

1. On the slab

By Fred Vargas

After publishing two frenzied essays on climate change, and six years after his last thriller, When the recluse comes outFred Vargas revives with her favorite commissioner, whom she sends to Brittany to elucidate a few crimes in the shadow of Chateaubriand. Printed in 280,000 copies, this tenth investigation by the nonchalant Adamsberg emerges in first place.

2. Le Monde, instructions for use. Understand, plan, act, protect

By Jacques Attali

“Everything that everyone should know about the way the world is going and its future”, is what Jacques Attali proposes here to issue “without waffle”. After analyzing the crises of the past (identifying nine “hearts” as so many “command centres”, starting with Bruges from 1250 to 1348), predicting the tragedies to come and identifying 12 principles, the economist announces, so as not to the reader despairs that there is a “very narrow way” to avoid the worst. Phew!

Italy

dark and celeste

Per Marco Malvaldi

1631, the plague rages in Florence, Europe is at war, and Galileo prepares to publish the Dialogue on the two great systems of the world… At 49, Marco Malvaldi, a chemist converted to writing (notably with his series of BarLume retirees), returns to historical thrillers by resuscitating the famous Tuscan, father of modern science, and takes second place in the charts of the Corriere della Sera.